FACTOID # 51: Russia won the first World Air Games, held in Turkey in 1997. Events included hang-gliding, sky-surfing, and ballooning.
 
 Home   Encyclopedia   Statistics   Countries A-Z   Flags   Maps   Education   Forum   FAQ   About 
 
WHAT'S NEW
RECENT ARTICLES
More Recent Articles »
 

SEARCH ALL

FACTS & STATISTICS    Advanced view

Search encyclopedia, statistics and forums:

 

 

(* = Graphable)

 

 


Encyclopedia > Artemisia absinthium


Absinth Wormwood

wormwood (Artemisia absinthium)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Artemisia
Species: A. absinthium
Binomial name
Artemisia absinthium
L.


Artemisia absinthium by Koehler 1887

Artemisia absinthium or Absinth Wormwood, is a wormwood. It has been used to repel fleas and moths, and in brewing to make absinthe. It is also used medically as a tonic, stomachic, febrifuge and anthelmintic. It is native to Europe and Siberia and is now widespread in the United States.

Contents

Description

A hardy, herbaceous perennial, it can grow to 4 feet tall (1 metre). It is covered in silky silvery_white hairs and many oil_producing glands. Its stems are a silvery_green color, straight, grooved, branched, and covered in leaves.


Its leaves are alternate, a greenish-grey color on the upper side, and almost white and silky underneath. The basal leaves measure up to 25 centimetres in length and have long petioles. The cauline leaves (those on the stem) have short petioles and are less divided. The top leaves can even be both simple and sessile (without a petiole). The plant blossoms from July to September. Its flowers are yellow, tubular, and clustered in spherical bent-down heads (composite flowers), which are in turn clustered in leafy and branched panicles.


The plant has a hard rhizome.


Botanical Characteristics

  • Reproductive organs:
  • Seed:
  • Distribution and habitat:
    • Habitat type: long-fallow xerophilous land, middle-European
    • Area of distribution: Eurasia

Distribution and Habitat

Originated in the temperate climates of continental areas of Europe, Asia and Northen Africa. Naturalized elsewhere. It grows naturally on uncultivated, arid soil, on rocky slopes, by the side of footpaths and fields.


Cultivation

The plant can easily be cultivated in low-grade, dry soil. Plant under bright exposure on fertile, mid-weight soil. It prefers pedocal soil, rich in nitrogen. It reproduces by growth or by seed in the nursery bed.

Absint Wormwood in the Caucasus Range

Uses

The plant's characteristic odour can make it useful for plant purines. In the cultivation of absinthe, in part the secretions of the roots exert an inhibiting effect on the growth of surrounding plants, thus weeds. It can be useful to repel other plants but it should only be planted for such a purpose on the edge of the area of cultivation.


This plant is used as the base for the liquor absinthe






  Results from FactBites:
 
Artemisia (plant) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (875 words)
Artemisia is a large, diverse genus of plants with between 200-400 species belonging to the daisy family Asteraceae.
Artemisia absinthium (Absinth Wormwood) was used to repel fleas and moths, and in brewing (wormwood beer, wormwood wine).
In Russian culture, the fact that Artemisia species are commonly used in medicine, and their bitter taste is associated with medicinal effects, has caused wormwood to be seen as a symbol for a "bitter truth" that must be accepted by a deluded (often self-deluded) person.
botanical.com - A Modern Herbal | Wormwoods - Herb Profile and Information (2674 words)
The drug, absinthium, is rarely employed, but it might be of value in nervous diseases such as neurasthenia, as it stimulates the cerebral hemispheres, and is a direct stimulant of the cortex cerebri.
Absinthium occurs in the British Pharmacopoeia in the form of extract, infusion and tincture, and is directed to be extracted also from A.
It is found in the salt marshes of the British Isles, on the coasts of the Baltic, of France and the Mediterranean, and on saline soils in Hungary; thence it extends eastwards, covering immense tracts in Southern Russia, the region of the Caspian and Central Siberia to Chinese Mongolia.
  More results at FactBites »


 

COMMENTARY     


Share your thoughts, questions and commentary here
Your name
Your comments
Please enter the 5-letter protection code

Want to know more?
Search encyclopedia, statistics and forums:

 


Lesson Plans | Student Area | Student FAQ | Reviews | Press Releases |  Feeds | Contact
The Wikipedia article included on this page is licensed under the GFDL.
Images may be subject to relevant owners' copyright.
All other elements are (c) copyright NationMaster.com 2003-5. All Rights Reserved.
Usage implies agreement with terms.